AstronomyGameTeamSite

== This game can be purchased at [|The Game Crafter]

Mary Beth Laychak, Denise Myers, Grace Reyes, Peter Kronfeld

Instructional Objective
The learning objectives of this game include but are not limited to the //Science Content Standards for California Public Schools//. More specifically, players will learn facts, ideas and concepts in the following areas at different levels of difficulty:
 * Star names and folklore
 * Stellar Evolution
 * Star Formation

Learners & Context of Use
This board game is designed for players, aged 12 and above, who are interested in learning about astronomy. The game is appropriate for families, or for use in classrooms ranging from 6th to 12th grade. Because the average American adult has little knowledge of astronomy, the adults and children are more likely to be on even playing field. For classroom use, teams could play as one player, increasing the number of possible players.

Competing Products
There are several games on the market covering similar content as this game. Those reviewed are listed below in three categories: Educational Games, Educational Activity Aids, and games related to astronomy that were not focused on education. Of the educational games reviewed, most focus primarily on our Solar System, as do the public school standards up through 8th grade. This game will bring in some of the more unusual and exciting concepts from outside our Solar System. Good Heavens Monopoly - Astronomy [|Cogno Alien Adventure Game] [|Cogno Deep Worlds Game] || [|Family Astro: Race to the Planets] [|Family Astro: Moon Mission] [|Family Astro: Cosmic Decoders] || The Great Space Race Space Alert The Final Frontier Amazing Space Venture ||
 * ~ Educational Games ||~ Educational Activity Aids ||~ Sci-Fi/Fantasy Games ||
 * Planet Quest Game

Object of the Game
Collect one of each of the four different types stars that lie within 12 light years of earth. (The numbers next to the types of stars indicate the number of each that are present on the board.)
 * 1) Red Dwarf (21)
 * 2) Orange Dwarf (5)
 * 3) Yellow Dwarf (3)
 * 4) Brilliant White Star (2)

Content Analysis
Distances of stars Stellar evolution (which types of stars turn into black holes, white dwarfs, etc..) Star formation (where stars are formed) Stellar features (flares, gamma ray bursts, star spots) || Object of game is to collect different types of stars Questions to win an empty star Star Cards Info on board || Stellar evolution Stellar features (flares, gamma ray bursts, star spots) || Challenge questions to "steal" a star
 * ~ Content Type ||~ Content Elements ||~ Game Elements ||
 * ===**Facts**=== || Types of Stars (colors, temperatures)
 * ===**Concepts**=== || Distances in space

Elements on board Chance cards || Star formation (how stars are formed) Fusion || Elements on board Challenge cards Chance cards that reveal information, but don't require to the player to know it prior || Facts about stellar features || Chance cards that revel information, but don't require to the player to know it prior
 * ===**Principles**=== || Distances in space || path on the board ||
 * ===**Procedures**=== ||  ||   ||
 * ===**Processes**=== || Stellar evolution (why different stars have different life cycles)
 * ===**Probabilities**=== || Facts about more esoteric concepts in stellar evolution; black holes, neutron stars

Dice to move on board Challenge questions ||
 * ===**Context**=== || Try and collect one of each type of the stars featured in the game || Gameplay ||
 * ===**Vantage Points**=== || Stars as seen from Earth

Distances || The board will feature stars that are within 12 light years of Earth The distances between stars and from the Earth to the stars on the board will try to reflect actual distances as closely as possible; i.e. one square on the board will represent one light year. ||

Game Materials

 * Board
 * 2 Dice
 * Pawns for Player Movement
 * Stellar Challenge Cards
 * Stellar Discovery Cards
 * Cosmic Event Cards

//Board // The board is based on the stars in the solar neighborhood. Each star is identified for their different colors/classifications.

//Dice// A standard six-sided dice and will be used to move the players around the board.

//Pawns// The pawns will be rocket ships from ​Game Crafter.

//Stellar Challenge Cards // These cards are used when a player lands on an star. The player will need to answer the question correctly to this card in order to claim the star.

//Stellar Discovery Cards // These cards represent each of the stars that appear on the board. The players get them when they claim a star. The card will be the color of the star as well as have more detailed information about the star.

//Cosmic Event Cards // A space on the board that the player lands on prompts them to draw this card. These cards are like Chance Cards where it could be a good or bad outcome for the player. These cards can move players to the nearest star, change their stars classification, take their star away and much more.

//Printable Rules //

Time Required
The game is very easy to set up, so it should take 5 minutes. Play time will take 45-60 minutes depending on how quickly the players can land on the specific stars and answer the questions correctly. The game should be completed in one play period since it shouldn't take too long to complete but can be split into more than one play period if needed.

The Rules
Playing the game **
 * Getting started **
 * Place the shuffled Cosmic Event and Stellar Challenge decks face down on the board.
 * Arrange Stellar Discovery Cards by color, and place face down on the board.
 * Each player starts at the Sun.
 * Each player rolls the dice; highest roll goes first and play continues clockwise.
 * Players can move both forward and backwards on the game board but must stick to one direction for each roll.
 * Each space on the board represents one light year.
 * Roll two dice and move that number of light years in any direction. If you do not land on a star, you must draw a Cosmic Event card and follow what it says. Return the card to the bottom of the Cosmic Event deck after your turn.
 * If you land on a star (you must roll the exact number), draw a Stellar Challenge card and answer the question correctly to claim the star and collect the corresponding Stellar Discovery card. Right or wrong, your turn is over.
 * If you land on a star already claimed by another player, you can try to steal the star from him or her. The owner of the star must answer the question correctly to keep that star. If he or she answers incorrectly, you must draw another card and answer that question correctly in order to claim the star for yourself. If neither player answers correctly, return the Stellar Discovery Card to the deck.
 * The first player to collect at least one each of the four star types, wins and ends the game. Important Note: Some Stellar Discovery Cards are worth more than one star. For instance, Luyten 789-6 A,B,C is a multi-star system containing three red dwarf stars. Claiming it is the same as claiming three separate Stellar Discovery Cards with single red dwarfs.

Motivational Issues
The Great Star Race is distinct in the arena of educational games because it teaches players about stars in a way that no other game has focused on the stars in our universe. Our own star (the Sun) is a major factor in our life here on Earth and the majority of the population doesn't even know its relative size to the Earth let alone the role it plays in the universe! So just the concept is motivating and engages the learner to play the game and understand these amazing facts about the stars around us. We planned the game board to actually reflect the stars that are in our stellar neighborhood. We also kept the distance between each star on the board to the same scaled size as it is in space.

Challenge and competition are the biggest focus of our game and the mechanics reinforce these ideas. At the beginning of the game the players are faced with the challenge to collect each of the different stars by traveling through space and answering questions, learning as they go. At any given time (if the player doesn’t land on a star) a player will draw a Cosmic Event card that does multiple things but can include taking a star away from them or another player as well as be able to challenge someone else for that star. Chance was built into the game through random events. These were created with a focus on elegance, making the events (gravitational pull, solar winds) reflect what we want players to learn in content domain. So the flow of the game is constantly changing with the probability of the Cosmic Event cards throwing players off course with what they were trying to accomplish. The competition is also constantly going throughout the game with who can complete the task first.

Our game benefits from people's natural curiosity and fascination with the universe. This creates a built in intrinsic motivation to play the game and learn about stars. We created an explicit, easily grasped objective (distal goal) of collecting all four star types. Landing on individual stars and earning them intrinsically motivates players with clear proximal goals.

Design Process
The first thoughts we had as a team was that we were going to gear this towards second and third grade children and focus on the solar system including the people who were important in its many discoveries as well as the facts of each of the planets and their moons. We then jumped to aliens and creating our game around the idea of an alien invasion. Their planet(s) died and they are searching for a planet that fits their exact needs. Each player would have a different alien that needed a different atmosphere and the goal of the game would be to find the planet that suits their alien the best. We rejected all of these ideas for multiple reasons with content and games that already existed and we decided to focus on stars, thanks to the guiding of Karl and Bernie.

Our game then morphed into an idea of traveling from star to star and answering questions about stars. The goal is to claim stars and collect the most points(each star had a certain amount of points). We developed the rest of the game around this idea to the point of being able to play test. We had a couple of play test groups with both adults and some middle school age children. The results prompted us to revamp our game and add more strategy and a story to the game to make it more interesting and draw people to play again and again.

From many discussions between all of the team members and Bernie, we decided on our final idea of collecting different types of stars. When traveling through space, the first player to collect one of each of the different types of stars wins the game. This main idea helped with adding strategy (multiple star systems count as more than one star) as well as interest level to all different types of players. To add more chance/strategy, we included more opportunities for Cosmic Event (chance) cards to be drawn. We did this by creating the rule that a player must draw that card each time they do not actually land on a star.

As a team we learned that designing a game and working in a team to do so is often time consuming and difficult. Brainstorming is fun but takes a long time to hear out all the ideas and then meld them all into what we agree on from each of the different perspectives. The entire process took longer than we expected. Next time, we all agree that getting a prototype playtest version out earlier would be in our best interests in order to be able to make changes in a timely manner. .